The Guardian of Shadows
by HummingAtNight
Summary: Detective by day, superhero by night, Kate Beckett (a.k.a The Guardian of Shadows) hunts down criminals and puts them behind bars, but how long before Castle or someone else finds out, putting their lives in danger? Set towards the end of season 3.


**A/N:** Hi. I'm Verity, but some of you guys might know me as HummingAtNight from twitter. This is a lil idea that popped up in my head after watching too many episodes of Firefly, hope you enjoy :D *thanks to Katie ( Green_Tiger_21) for being my beta and letting me be her grasshopper and Cassie ( Castle_Fanatic) for reading this through*

**Disclaimer: **this is Andrew Malowe's but that's okay because he's a cool guy.

Chapter 1.

Yawning, Beckett treaded into her apartment, the last glimmers of sunlight disappearing behind rooftops, as she removed her badge and gun from another day of work. She wandered mindlessly towards the kitchen in desperate need for caffeine before the night ahead of her. She brought the smooth, flavorful liquid to her lips and sighed a hum of relief. It wasn't as good as Castle's, but it was close enough.

She continued pacing towards her bedroom, the rich aftertaste of coffee still sharp in her mouth. She set the mug down on the bedside table and flicked on the lamp, turning to her wardrobe until she found what she was hunting for: her superhero costume.

It was never her intention to become a superhero. Sure, she had read comic books when she was a teenager, but she had never planned to be one.

She slipped into her catsuit and smoothed it over her glowing skin, pressing out creases so it slides effortlessly over her soft shoulders, finally coming to rest beneath a wall of silky hair. She thought back to earlier that day when Castle had brought up her alter ego. He didn't even know.

"C'mon Beckett, isn't it cool? New York has its own superhero!" he exclaimed, wildly flapping today's newspaper in her face.

"Yeah real cool. Until she gets shot one dark night, leaving us with another murder to solve."

"Beckett please, she can't get shot. She's like a ninja." he replied.

"True that," said Esposito casually dropping into the conversation. "I hear she speaks with a Russian accent. I'm thinking she was trained by KGB."

"KGB... Espo, you can't be serious?! You're as bad as Castle."

"I hear she's smokin' hot too." Esposito responded, giving Castle a knuckle touch.

"So what do you call this 'superhero' of yours?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"The Guardian of Shadows." they replied in unison, as Beckett gave her usual eye roll.

"Oh!" Ryan called out. "You guys talking about The Guardian of Shadows?" he asked walking swiftly from his desk over to Beckett's to join the conversation.

"Yeah, why?" Castle inquired.

"I just got word from my buddy at the 6th, said The Shadow of Guardians just dropped off her latest victim. A drug dealer named Anthony Fernández. He was found outside the 6th handcuffed to a streetlamp. They've been trying to catch that guy for the past 3 years."

"See Beckett, told you she was badass! And she even has these two knives and a sexy catsuit that makes you just want to rip it off her..." Castle trailed off towards the end as Beckett swallowed hard.

"You seem to know a lot about this 'Guardian of Shadows' Castle. Have a little crush maybe?" she smirked.

"Please, Beckett. There's not a guy in the whole city that doesn't have a crush on this chick. I bet she likes it rough..." uttered Esposito.

"And on that note, I'm getting more coffee." announced Beckett as she moved gracefully towards the break room. Castle followed, as always.

"Beckett..." Castle began.

"What, Castle?" she mumbled as she poured freshly brewed coffee into her NYPD mug and then taking a lengthy sip.

"Are you, by any chance, The Guardian of Shadows?"

She spit out her coffee instantly. "WHAT?" she shouted.

"Well think about it logically: you're pretty good with a knife, you're badass, have ninja skills, know where all the precincts are, speak Russian..."

She cut him off. "No, Castle," she laughed. "I'm not The Guardian of Shadows. I'm a detective; I don't have time to run around in a superhero costume saving the city. Besides, that's my job anyway." she winked and then walked back to her desk carrying her coffee, with Castle following closely behind.

How she wished she could have told him the truth. But she couldn't. It was too dangerous. She couldn't risk too many people knowing in case these psychopaths started coming for her family, her friends.

She took a deep breath. The catsuit was made from polyester and elastane, woven expertly to form a fabric light as mist making doing combat in it a breeze. The fabric hugged her figure, fitting masterfully to every crevice her slight body could provide and the top stopped just between her breasts. It was sleek and black as it curved comfortably around to her spine, to where the Zodiac symbol of the guardian was painted bright red on the back.

Leather lace-up boots came next, and Kate tugged them on and tied them up, the tops stopping just below her knees which accentuated the length of those slim calves right down to her usual four inch heel. Then came a distinctive red headscarf, needed to hold back wild yet silken hair during the night's battles. Kate carefully tied a red satin choker around her neck, which also held the zodiac sign of the guardian, and positioned her mask gently over sparkling eyes, its silky fabric impossibly black with an alarming red rim. Finally, she slid pale and feminine hands into her black leather gloves, positioned her utility belt on her waist and grabbed her twin Sai, watching intently as they glinted in the moonlight.

The Guardian of Shadows was ready.


End file.
